The accolades just keep coming for Oregon running back LaMichael James. On Tuesday, James received word that he had been named to the Pac-10 all-academic first team, while also being acknowledged as one of the Walter Camp Foundation’s 15 “players to watch” for the 2010 player of the year award.
On Dec. 1, James will find out if he is named a finalist when the field is cut to five players.
James has also been named a semifinalist for both the Maxwell Award (for “outstanding player in college football”) and the Doak Walker Award (for the best running back in the country). So far in the 2010 season, James has gathered 1,422 rushing yards and 18 total touchdowns.
With two games left to play in the regular season, James also finds himself tied for the NCAA scoring lead with 12.0 points per game.
Despite all of the performance-related honors, it is safe to assume that James is most proud of the academic recognition. Before the season, according to The Register-Guard, he stated that he wanted to be named an academic All-American. Though not a national award, a place on the Pac-10 first team is nothing to sneeze at.
Majoring in sociology, James currently has a 3.01 grade point average. Two other members of Oregon’s football team, tight end David Paulson and guard Carson York, join James on the first team. Paulson is a business administration major with a 3.66 GPA, while York carries a 3.70 GPA as a journalism-advertising major.
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